As the USCCB Gathers in Atlanta

As the USCCB Gathers in Atlanta by MSW.  MGB: I suspect that most of the real action on religious liberty in Atlanta will be in behind the scenes discussion, with plenty of venting going on. As to the appropriateness of the four part typology on whether the exemption applies - such a typology is not at all inappropriate. You would need the same kind of thing in imposing a VAT. Hospitals would pay, Churches would not, schools may or may not, etc. The law can treat different entities differently and should, regardless of how you feel about it.


If the bishops wanted to avoid being part of a war on women, they should have insisted that a Sister testify with them on the panel, even she found the accommodation adequate. No one is saying that a war on women was the bishop's idea - but that does not mean that it does not occur - especially in light of the whole effort to defund Planned Parenthood in Susan G. Komen, which was part of a right wing project. When you lie with dogs...

When arguing about rights in law, the Church needs to rely on lawyers - and find lawyers that don't echo its views on the nature of rights in an absolute sense, which, by the way, don't really exist - they are either set by agreement or they don't. We have no rights before God (nor do we need them).

As to the future, the best thing that could happen out of Atlanta is that they drop the matter. It has been too conflated in the public mind with the GOP's war on Planned Parenthood and there is nothing they can say, aside from saying nothing, that will change that perception. If the more rightist among them keep flapping their gums, they will lose more support than Obama will, especially among Catholics who voted for Obama last time and maybe among Catholic women who did not. Of course, the partisan side of me hopes they will keep on going.